


Don't Mess with Captain

by Scmnz



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Kinda, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, captain nitori, violence?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-09-26 04:45:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9863522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scmnz/pseuds/Scmnz
Summary: Some new members of the Samezuka swim team think its funny to pick on captain Nitori. Despite being warned, they are oblivious to how much danger this will put them in.





	1. Chapter 1

Being team captain was going very well. His swimmers were working hard, and they were improving. The team had an impressive lineup ready for regionals. Almost everything was going perfectly. Captain Nitori just one problem. Three large first years simply would not take him seriously. Because of this they thought they could ignore his orders. They thought that they could run the team better, and they were causing chaos.

 

Nitori stood as tall as he could, but the younger boy still loomed over him. Koichiro was the leader of the three, and the strongest. Nitori tried to hide his nervousness and put on a stern expression. “You lied to the other swimmers told them I canceled practice for the day. Why?”

 

“If you work us too hard we’ll all get injured. I was just looking out for the team. It’s your fault for being incompetent.” Koichiro rolled his eyes and smirked.

 

The boy’s reputation as a trouble maker had spread. All but one of the first years had been fooled and weren’t at practice, but most of the second years and all the third years were present.

 

A few boys were pretending to stretch well listening in to the lecture Koichiro was getting. One of the eavesdroppers cut in and said “He isn’t working us too hard. Things have been just as challenging the past two years as well. Nitori is an excellent captain, you’re just lazy.”

 

Koichiro seemed to become even taller as he leaned over Nitori. “Do you think that too captain? Do you think I’m lazy?”

 

“No I don’t think you’re lazy. But you aren’t practicing enough, so you aren’t reaching your true potential. If you just applied yourself more-”

 

The silver haired captain was cut short when the dark haired first year grabbed his shoulder and raised his large fist. Nitori squeaked and closed his eyes tight, waiting to the punch. It never came. He opened his eyes to see that a second year named Fujimoto had grabbed the boy’s fist stopping it. Another guy, Matsuyama from Nitori’s year, was pulling Koichiro away. “Is it ok if we talk to this guy alone Captain?”  
 

“Talk to him, but you mustn’t fight him, I will have to suspend any team member who harms another. Don’t make me kick you off the team. And Koichiro, this will be your last warning from me, if you cause any trouble again I’ll be forced to kick you off of the team.” Nitori was nervous about what would happen, but both boys were reliable team members who he trusted, so he let that be, and went to the rest of the team, getting practice started.

 

* * *

 

The two older teens stood in front of the first year. “Don’t mess with the captain.”

 

“Or what? Are you threatening me? You heard what he said, if you hurt me you’ll both get kicked off of the team.” Koichiro smirked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

 

“He absolutely would kick us off the team, he’s fair and will stick to his rules even if he hates it. We aren’t who you need to be afraid of. Don’t mess with captain Nitori or you’ll have to face _him._ ”

 

“Who, precious little Nitori? I’m twice his size. He could never hurt me-” He stopped. The fear in the older boys’ eyes was real, and they weren’t afraid of Koichiro or his friends.

 

The two exchanged before Matsuyama just said softly, “You’ve never faced _his_ wrath. You aren’t an entirely bad kid or we wouldn’t warn you, be careful or there’s no telling what _he_ will do to you.”

 

Koichiro was utterly confused. Both boys were far larger than the captain. Why were they so afraid of him? It was irrational.

 

* * *

 

Things seemed to settle down after that, and Nitori had a couple quiet weeks as captain when everyone was behaving. But then, one Wednesday after practice Koichiro and his two followers went up to the smaller teen. “We need to talk to you captain. Alone if that’s possible.” That made Nitori incredibly nervous. The three were clearly up to something, but there was no way as a responsible captain he could refuse their request.

 

“One second, I can speak to you after I speak to some of the others about their times.” The silver haired third year tried to smile convincingly.

 

“Sure, we’d rather talk to you once everyone is gone” one of Koichiro’s buddies grinned. This was definitely bad news.

 

Nitori walked to where Fujimoto and Matsuyama stood chatting. “Hey, um… Can I ask a favor of you? Those three are asking me to talk with them.” He nodded in the direction of Koichiro and his cronies, hoping they wouldn’t notice. “They want to talk when everyone’s left, which makes me think this may be a trap. But as the captain I have to.”

 

“You shouldn’t talk to them, captain or not. All three are bigger than you. You could get badly hurt.” They both frowned.

 

“I don’t have a choice. But can you two just wait in the locker rooms and come running if you hear me yelling, or if I’ve been missing for too long?” Nitori shook as he said that, he was scared, but he couldn’t let his team see that.

 

The two saw his fear, but they also knew that Nitori could be quite stubborn. There would be no talking him out of this, all they could do would be to stay close by in case something happened. “Sure, We’ve got your back.”

 

The team filed out the two friends going along with them after a wary glance at their captain walking to Koichiro and his gang. While the rest of the team went to the showers Fujimoto and Matsuyama stood close to the door, listening intently. The third year gripped the other’s hand reassuringly. Nothing happened for a while. Some of the team had already finished showing and were going back to the dorms. The two friends were about go in after Nitori. It had been too long. Then, they heard a scream.

 

They burst through the doors into the pool. The small teen was in the pool, struggling to keep his head above water. The larger boys were laughing and stood blocking the edge of the pool closest to Nitori so he couldn’t get out. There was blood in the water. Matsuyama shoved the bullies out of the way, allowing Fujimoto to dive in and grab Nitori. He helped him reach the opposite side of the pool, where he could climb out in safety. “Some Captain you are, you even need help swimming!” The three jeered.

 

“Why you little-” Matsuyama Raised his fist, read to punch Koichiro, but before he could captain Nitori called out to him.

 

“Stop, please. If you fight them the school will find out and I’ll have no choice. Please don’t make me kick you off the team, please.” The third year sighed and lowered his hand.

 

“What’s this? Does this mean you still love us? Do you forgive us captain? Aww how cute!” Koichiro grinned.

 

Nitori’s eyes narrowed. “Fuck you!” he spat.

 

Koichiro turned to Matsuyama. “You made him sound so scary, and we worried he had some secret skill or something. Guess you were wrong.” he scoffed.

 

“Oh I wasn’t wrong. _He_ is going to be angry, and you’ll have to face to most terrifying captain Samezuka has ever known.” With that, Matsuyama turned and crossed the pool to where Fujimoto was looking at Nitori’s injuries. By the time he reached them the three bullies had left, satisfied with their work.

 

* * *

 

 “The biggest injury is his leg. It’s clearly broken, just look at the angle its lying at.” Fujimoto began bringing his friend up to speed. “Bloody nose, and he’s going to have a black eye. Allot of bruises, but yeah the problem is his leg, we need to get that looked at by a doctor, and fast.”

 

Matsuyama looked at Nitori. “He miss any important injuries captain.”

 

Nitori closed his eyes and murmured “My ribs hurt allot, but I doubt they’re broken.”

 

“Still worth getting them checked out. Do you know anyone with a car?”

 

Nitori frowned, trying to think through the cloud of pain. “I think captain Mikoshiba, er, Momo’s older brother has one. I don’t know his number though.”

 

“Momo would have his number. Could I borrow your phone captain?” Fujimoto asked. When Nitori nodded he went and got the phone out of the locker room. It had several texts on it from Momo, asking where Nitori was since he usually back in the room by this time. Quickly the second year sent he response **“this is Fujimoto, Nitori senpai is hurt, we need your brothers car to take him to the hospital. Call him.”**

Fujimoto quickly scrolled the contacts, finding a number he wanted to call. Sure he and Matsuyama would be kicked off the team if they beat someone up, but there were people who wouldn’t get in trouble, because they weren’t part of the team anymore.

 

* * *

 

The phone rang, and Rin groaned, still mostly asleep. He buried his head in his pillow, trying to drown out the sound. Slowly it reached his consciousness that the ring tone was Ai’s. He reached out and grabbed the phone. “Do you have any idea how damn late it is?” He grumbled. It was a nasty shock when the voice on the other side wasn’t Nitori’s.

fifteen minutes Rin sat in front of his computer. On the screen was a list flights that were leaving for Japan in the next couple days. He purchased the soonest one.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no one to beta this, and I'm not good at editing, so if you see any mistakes please tell me =)

Rin couldn’t stand it. Ai was going to have surgery while he was trapped on this plane. His leg was damaged badly enough that the doctors had to go in and realign the bones. And here Rin was, on an airplane so outdated that it had no internet connection. He had no way to know how the operation was going, no way to know if the most important part of his life was ok.

 

Momo was with Nitori, and had tried to reassure Rin. He said the doctors told them there was only a 2% chance that the operation would go wrong enough that Nitori would die. But a two percent chance meant it was possible. And Rin would have no fucking idea if it had happened or not.

 

The flight would be 9 hours long. He had already been stuck in this hell for 2 hours. He had tried to read, tried to watch the in-flight movie, tried to sleep. Nothing worked, all he could do was sit and worry. Rin should be there, able to stay by Ai’s side and hold his hand. He must be so scared. And he had to be stuck so far away from all of it.

 

At least he wasn’t alone. Both Mikoshiba brothers were with him, and Sousuke would be on a train right now to the hospital. Nagisa and Rei lived in the area, so they were probably at the hospital too. And of course almost the whole Samezuka team would be rooting for him. But Rin wasn’t there. Ai had to go through this without his boyfriend by his side, and Rin couldn’t have felt more guilty. Training in Australia had been a selfish decision, he was sure of that now.

 

And of course Rin was angry too. How could anyone hurt someone as sweet, as kind, and as gentle as Nitori? Only a complete monster, someone absolutely evil would be capable of that. These people, this Koichiro guy, deserved to suffer.

 

And Rin was proud. Proud of his boyfriend to have the strength to put his team first, to keep them from hurting those monsters. Rin knew he wouldn’t be that strong, he would tear them to shreds no matter the cost. But sweet Nitori had cared about his team members and kept them from attacking, so that they wouldn’t be punished too. Rin almost wished he had been less selfless. He wanted the people who hurt his love to suffer.

 

And so there he sat, with no escape and no news. The redhead’s mind going in circles, feeling guilt and rage and a thousand other emotions. And he couldn’t keep himself from thinking up worst case scenarios. What if Ai died? What if he could never walk again? Time moved at an unbearable crawl.

 

* * *

 

 

Hours passed. Finally it was announced that they were an hour away from landing. Only one hour left. The operation would be done now. How had it gone? He’d know in just one more torturous hour.

Eventually even that hour ended. The plane landed. The time sitting on the ground, not allowed to turn on his phone or get up yet somehow made him feel even more helpless.

 

When Rin was finally allowed to check his phone there were two messages from Sousuke.

 

_“Nitori isn’t in pain anymore.”_

and

_“Seijuro and I are here to pick you up”_

Not in pain anymore! What did that mean?? That could mean that he had died, and Sousuke couldn’t bear to tell him that directly. Surely he wouldn’t send news like that in a text? But he would want Rin to know as soon as possible. sheer panic took hold of Rin. It probably meant that Ai was on allot of painkillers, but what if? What if!?

 

The passengers were allowed to stand. Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, they began to leave the plane. Rin moved forward, inch by inch. He longed to run from the hell this airplane had been. He needed answers. He dreaded what he might hear but he had to know! And he did run the moment he was off it. The redhead charged through the gates, and to his friends.

 

 “Is Ai ok?! IS HE ALIVE?!” he practically screamed. Rin hadn’t cried through the entire flight, but now he was sobbing. “Please, tell me.” Arms were wrapped around him. Sousuke opened his mouth to answer.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the over dramatic angsty chapter. It may be kinda repetitive, but Rin's thoughts at the time were repetitive too. I'm sorry for the almost cliff-hanger, but I promise you I'm not evil.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait.
> 
> This work is unbeta'd.

“Is Ai ok?! IS HE ALIVE?!”

 

Sousuke opened his mouth to answer. “Of course he’s alive. Calm down.”

 

“And is he ok?” Rin was shaking.

 

Sousuke sighed. “He’s as ok as he can be right now Rin. He’s been given allot of pain killers so he isn’t hurting anymore. They couldn’t give him much for pain before the surgery in case it effected the anesthesia.”

 

The three began walking out of the airport. “And how did the surgery go?” There was a flash of something in both Sousuke’s and Seijuro’s eyes. Concern?

 

“It went just fine Rin. His leg will heal and he will be able to walk.” Rin frowned. They were hiding something from him. How could they, at a time like this? He needed to know.

 

He was about to start demanding answers. There was so much he still didn’t know, and after hours of being trapped in the air with nothing, he couldn’t stand it anymore. But he was stopped when Sousuke began speaking again.

 

“You know how fiercely Nitori tries to be independent. He tries to do everything on his own. But he needs you now Rin. He needs to be supported right now. And he isn’t going to like that idea. He always fought to make you proud of him. But now, now you need to convince him you will be proud of him no matter what.”

 

“I still need answers. I’ll be more helpful if I’m not frantic. I only got very brief details. Aside from his leg, what other injuries are there.” Rin scowled. Why did he have to be useless at a time like this?

 

This time Seijuro responded. “He has allot of bruises, and mild concussion. And a hairline fracture on one of his ribs-”

 

“His ribs are broken?! Why didn’t anyone tell me!” Rin hissed through his teeth.

 

“Because they hadn’t done the x-rays when you were last called. And his leg hurt him badly enough that all he felt from the rib was some aching. Rin, keep calm. The rib really isn’t that bad.” The three exited the airport, Rin stalking forward, enraged. How could the world be so unfair to sweet Nitori?

 

“The monsters who hurt him. What happened to them? Where can I find them?” Sousuke placed a hand on Rin’s arm.

 

“Not now Rin. Right now we take care of Ai. Believe me I want to see them hurt as much as you do, but isn’t taking care of your boyfriend more important?” Rin sighed and nodded. 

 

"Of course he is. He's more important than anything."

 

* * *

 

Nitori had been drifting in and out of sleep ever since the surgery. Through the mist in his head he heard soft voices. “The pain killers are making him unfocused, and a bit loopy. He’s been asleep for so long because of them too. Thank you for your patience Mr. Matsuoka.” A female voice spoke softly. Matsuoka? Nitori felt confused.

 

After what felt like an age trapped in a half awake state, Nitori opened his eyes. Someone was sitting in the chair next to his bed. The person had red hair and red eyes. Nitori muzzily thought “he looks allot like Rin-senpai. The man beside him saw that his eyes were open and smiled. He had sharp teeth, and only Rin had those. So he must really be here. Unless…

 

“Am I dreaming?” The silver haired boy’s voice came out slow and groggy. He felt like everything in his mind was Floating through water, Slower than it should be and less distinct.

 

“No, you aren’t dreaming. I’m right here with you Ai.” Rin said gently.

 

Nitori reached his hand out towards his boyfriend, who took his hand in his own and squeezed. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Strange… Brain not moving fast enough.” The smaller boy tried to make his eyes focus, but it wasn’t working.

 

“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere love.” The voice was gentler than it usually was.

 

After a while of sitting together, holding hands in silence, Nitori’s mind felt clear enough to focus. Unfortunately, that also meant his mind was able to focus on how strange he felt, and the pain which made its way through the drugs.

 

“You’re supposed to be in Australia? You came here?”

 

“You were hurt. I had to be with you.” Rin squeezed his hand again.

 

“But that means I’m hurting you.” Nitori frowned.

 

“What on earth do you mean? Being here for you doesn’t hurt me.”

 

“Your dream. If you’re here that means you aren’t training. I’m just getting in the way.” There were tears in his eyes now. “You’ve worked so hard for the Olympics. If I were to destroy that, I couldn’t live with myself!”

 

“Ai, You’ve helped me learn that people are more important than my dream. You know that’s what got me out my fucked up state the year we were roommates. You are far more important to me.” Rin’s eyes were soft, still as gentle as they had been, but his voice was now insistent.

 

Nitori shook his head “No! You’ve worked so hard!”

 

“And I can keep working hard here. Please, you’ve been so strong for me, through all my hard times. Let me be strong for you now.”

 

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I’ve made you worry for me.” He began shaking, tears still falling from his blue eyes.

 

“You’ve done nothing wrong, and I want to worry about you.”

 

“You shouldn’t have to worry about me, be upset about me.”

“Ai look at me. I’m a thousand times happier with you in my life than I am without you. Even worrying about you, even at a time like this. My life is better with you in it.” Rin stared into his boyfriend’s eyes, trying to communicate how serious he was. He meant every word he said, and there a thousand more things he couldn’t find the words for right now. Of course he didn’t want Nitori to hurt, but he wanted to be here to support him while he needed it.

 

“But it’s my fault this is happening. It’s because I wasn’t a good enough Captain! And now they don’t even have me to couch them! What are they going to do? I have to get better faster, they need me.”

 

Rin smiled a tiny bit. “We already thought of that. Sousuke Seijuro and I are going to take turns coaching the team while you get better. Please don’t try to rush your recovery love. And you aren’t a bad coach. I’ve talked to some of the team while in Australia. Several say you’re a better coach than me. And I’ve gotten permission from Samezuka to train in the pool, so please don’t worry about my training.”  

 

Nitori didn’t seem to quite believe him, but he nodded. Rin leaned in, wiping the tears from his boyfriends face. He kissed his forehead and murmured “I’m here for you. I love you. Please, don’t doubt that.”

 

Nitori smiled weakly. “I love you too Rin.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry this chapter took so long to publish. I’ve been sick most of this month so it took forever to get done. I also apologize if this is incoherent or if everyone is horribly ooc. I’m still sick but this chapter has taken so long, and I left you on such a cliffhanger I figured I’d take my chances and see if a fevered chapter made any sense. If you have any suggestions on how to fix whatever is wrong with this chapter please do tell me. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and enjoying my work! =)


	4. Chapter 4

A couple more days had passed and Nitori was healing fairly well. He would be wearing a cast for a month or more, which was quite upsetting. He wouldn’t be able to swim with his leg still so damaged, and he feared being out of practice would make him a far worse captain for his team.

 

He was, however, ready to be checked out of the hospital and return to the dorms. A doctor examined Nitori one last time to make sure there was nothing they had missed. Rin sat next to him, holding his hand. After the doctor finished the examination, she cleared her throat.

 

“Your head still aches, correct. This suggests you still have a mild concussion. It would be good for you to avoid stress as much as you can, it will heal faster that way. Once it feels better, please return and talk to me.” Her face looked grim.

 

Nitori stiffened. “Is there something you can’t tell me in case it stresses me out? Not knowing will only upset me more!”

 

 Rin’s mind flashed back to Sousuke and Seijuro’s expressions when first arrived. There was something they had refused to tell him about Nitori’s condition. Was the doctor hiding this same thing? Ai was right, this unknown would only stress the both of them more. “Tell us what’s wrong!” he snapped, voice sounding harsher than he had intended. The doctor simply shook her head and turned away.

 

* * *

 

 

What the hell was her problem, and why would his two friends hide important information from him. It was confirmed that Ai would be ok, so he didn’t have to worry about losing his boyfriend. But still, whatever they were hiding had to be a big deal, right?

 

With these worried thoughts cycling in Rin’s head, they left the hospital. The red head carried all of their stuff while Nitori limped along on his crutches. The smaller teen looked at his boyfriends face with concern. He was scowling and looked like he wanted to smash something. Of course, he had looked angry much of the time, because of what had happened to Ai, but he could tell something different was on his mind.

Nitori was utterly exhausted when the two reached the dorms. Hobbling along with the crutches took so much energy even though they had taken the train most of the way. He needed to take more pain meds, it had been a couple hours since he last took them and his whole body ached.

 

He collapsed onto his bunk, and smiled weakly at Rin. “Could you grab my pills out of my bag, and get me some water.” The redhead smiled faintly back. It was horrible seeing Ai like this, but at least he was asking for help. He was usually so determined to do everything himself, so it was a relief that he was willing to rely on Rin.

 

When he returned with a glass of water and the drugs, Nitori was staring at him intently. “What’s up?” he asked, handing over the meds.

 

“You know something about what the doctor was hiding, don’t you. I saw it on your face.”

 

Rin wanted to explain the little he knew, but wasn’t he supposed to keep Nitori from becoming stressed. “It’s nothing, I’m just worried about you.” He smiled unconvincingly.

 

The silver haired boy frowned. He downed the painkillers then focused his eyes on his boyfriend. “I know what worried looks like. I know how you act when you’re upset. You know something Rin, I can tell. So answer me, don’t lie!” It was upsetting he might know what was going on, and hide something so important. He knew Rin was only hiding whatever it was out of love, but it was still hard to have his boyfriend lie to him. In his tired state it was almost enough to make him cry.

 

Rin sighed and sat down. “I don’t know anything more than you do.” Nitori opened his mouth to object and demand his answer, but Rin raised his hand to stop him. “When I asked Mikoshiba and Sousuke how you were, there was something they wouldn’t tell me. I think it might be the same thing the doctor hid. I didn’t want to stress you out when I don’t have the information.” Rin reached out his hand and softly stroked Ai’s hair. “I’m sorry for lying.”

 

Nitori nodded and closed his eyes, lying back. He was so very tired. The medications were making him feel floaty, and the hand in his hair felt nice. “Stay here?” he murmured. Rin agreed and he drifted off to sleep. A few hours later he heard Momo return from classes. Rin asked for some blankets, so he could stay the night on their floor. Nitori smiled, it felt selfish but he was so glad Rin was here beside him.

 

* * *

 

 

Nitori was running through a dark forest. They were chasing him, getting closer every second. He couldn’t breathe. In the darkness, there was a sudden light below him. He looked down and screamed, his leg was covered in flames. He kept trying to run, Koichiro’s laugh echoing in his head.

 

His leg crumpled beneath him, and Nitori fell. Instead of hitting the dirt of the forest, he hit a white tile floor. He spun to look behind him, but no one chasing him. He sat alone in a white room. There was a quiet beeping.

 

His leg was still burning but the silver haired teen pulled himself to his feet. Slowly, he limped to the door. He opened the door, and on the other side he saw himself lying on a stretcher, surrounded by doctors. He saw his eyes open, looking up at the doctors. The all had false smiles on their faces, and said in unison, “You’ll be fine dear, you’re healing great.” He watched as his eyes drifted closed. The doctors turned away from the stretcher, fake expressions gone, and shook their heads.

 

The pain in Nitori’s leg grew even worse. The flames grew hotter and stronger, then went out. He watched in horror as his leg crumbled into ashes. Then there was nothing but the sensation of falling into darkness, and the sound of his own screaming.

 

Nitori’s eyes flew open. Rin was shaking his shoulder, worried voice repeating his name. “Ai! Ai wake up!” He turned his head and gripped the redhead’s hand on his shoulder.

 

“Leg burning. Ashes…” He muttered, dazed and disoriented.

 

“Let me grab your painkillers.” Rin tried to jump up, but Nitori clung to his hand. He was still half asleep, trapped in the nightmare.

 

“Don’t go senpai! They’ll get me!”

 

A groggy voice from above asked “What’s happening. Is Nitori-senpai ok?”

 

“He had a nightmare, and his leg hurts. Get his meds Momo, he wants me with him. Do it!”

 

The ginger scrabbled down the bunk’s ladder, almost falling, before diving into the bathroom to get Nitori’s drugs. Rin sat by the small shaking teen, rubbing his back. “It was a dream, just a dream. I’m right here, no one will get you. I promise, I won’t let anyone hurt you like that ever again.”

 

Momo returned with a glass of water and some pills, and a couple minutes later Nitori felt the pain recede. He described the dream as the two hovered over him with concern. Rin gripped his hands. “We’ll get answers from Sousuke tomorrow, I promise. Not knowing isn’t good for you. For either of us.”

 

Nitori still felt very unsettled, images from the nightmare replaying over and over in his head. He blushed in the dark and clung to his love’s hands. “Would you, would you stay with me? I mean, like…” He searched for the correct words. “Can we snuggle? I don’t know if I can sleep after that.”

 

Rin leaned in and kissed him. Without a word he gently move Nitori so that the small teen lay on top of him, so that Rin wouldn’t accidentally crush his leg. He rubbed his back, and stroked his hair. Slowly, the quick breathes and the shaking stopped. Once Nitori had fallen asleep, Rin pressed one last kiss into his forehead and murmured. “I’ll get your answers, and I’ll get your revenge. I promise.”

 

Soon, Rin was asleep as well, Nitori sleeping peacefully in his arms, head nestled under his chin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter took so long. I re-wrote it several times and i'm still not very happy with it, but it's been almost a month since I updated this Fic so i'm posting the chapter in it's current state, and maybe later I'll make it good. For now, the story must go on!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Betaed by CallForCourage1516

Sunlight streamed through the dorm curtains. Rin lay on his back, Nitori’s sleeping form firmly wrapped in his arms. Rin had always been the earlier riser. He glanced at the alarm clock, knowing it would soon go off. Momo’s first class was soon, and he was just as difficult to wake as Nitori. For now, he let his eyes drift shut as he pulled his boyfriend a bit closer, as if to protect him from the day ahead.

 

Soon enough the clock did go off, growing steadily louder until first Momotaru woke. He jumped down from the top bunk to switch it off, but by that time the damage was done and Nitori was awake. Rin gently stroked his hair while Momo ran around the room getting ready.

 

“How are you feeling, love?” he whispered.

 

“Drowsy. I didn’t sleep too well, and the pain meds…” Nitori nuzzled his cheek against Rin’s shoulder.

 

“Do you need more of the pills now?”

 

Nitori shook his head. “I’m fine for now. Do you want to go for your morning jog? I’ll be ok by myself.”

 

The redhead frowned. “I don’t want to leave you. What if you need something?”

 

Nitori pushed himself up and stubbornly glared at Rin “I’m not getting in the way of your dreams. I thought I made that clear. You need to train. I’ll be fine on my own for half an hour.”

 

He shook his head stubbornly. “I’m staying right here.”

 

They kept frowning at each other for some time, until at last Ai collapsed onto Rin’s chest. “I’m too tired for this. But it’s your turn to substitute as coach. You’re going to do that, no arguments.”

 

Rin opened his mouth, about to argue, but Nitori pressed his face into his chest and murmured in a soft shaky voice,  “Please Rin, take good care of my team.”

 

Rin still hated the idea of leaving his boyfriend’s side, but he really didn’t have much choice. He had promised to coach, and he wasn’t about to break a promise to the most important person in his world.

“Of course Ai. I’ll do my best for you.”

 

* * *

 

 

After getting the team started on stretches, Rin called Matsumori and Fujiyama over to him. “Thank you for saving Ai. I’ll never be able to repay you. And thank you for calling me that night. It seems like people are determined to keep me from knowing what’s going on, so thank you.”

 

The two glanced at each other. “What aren’t people telling you?” They asked almost in unison.

 

“There’s some big secret no one will tell me. And I still don’t know what happened to the people who attacked him. Why wouldn’t they be willing to tell me that?!”

 

“We don’t know anything about a big secret…” Matsumori began. “But we know what happened to those monsters.” Fujiyama finished.

 

“Well? Tell me!” Rin snapped. The friends nodded and frowned. “There were three first years who attacked him. Two of them were expelled. But the ringleader, Koichiro, his father donates a large amount of money to Samezuka.” They glared together. “He wasn’t expelled, he was just kicked off the swim team and ordered to stay far away from captain Nitori.”

 

Rin’s face went red, he clenched his fists in rage. He felt like screaming, or punching someone. This was ridiculous, and utterly unfair. How dare the person who hurt his angel escape with so little punishment!

 

Fujiyama sighed. “This is probably why no one told you. They knew how angry you’d be. But you needed to know. We’re worried about what might happen if he gets close to captain.”

 

“That won’t happen.” Rin snarled. He debated running back to the room, back to Ai’s side. But that would be breaking his promise. Instead, he yelled at Momo “Come here!” The ginger looked up, surprised, and jogged over.

 

“What’s up senpai?”

 

“You’re going right back to the dorm room. Go there and protect Ai. That’s an order!” Rin scowled. “And if anything happens to him, you’ll pay too.” Rin raised his voice. “That goes for everyone here, everyone at this whole school. If anyone ever hurts Nitori ever again, I’ll see to it that they suffer just as much as he does! You don’t want to face me when I’m this angry, I guarantee it!”

 

Momo nodded and hurried back to the room. Matsumori looked at Rin before asking.

 

“Do you want us to go and protect captain Nitori too?”

 

Rin considered his offer and shook his head.

 

“He’d be angry at me for not training his whole team. And Momo is tougher than he looks.”  He clapped his hands and raised his voice again. “Nothing more to see here, get back to your stretches everyone!”

 

* * *

 

 

The moment practice was over, Rin rushed back to the dorms. There, he found Nitori curled up in bed watching videos of cute animals. When Nitori looked up from the screen and saw his boyfriend, he smiled up tiredly and closed the laptop. Momo was sitting on the top bunk, studying.

 

“How are you feeling?” , Rin asked, reaching out to stroke his silver hair.

 

Nitori sighed, leaning his head into the comforting touch. “Dizzy from the pain meds. I’m having trouble focusing, so... cat videos.”

 

“Are you still in pain, Ai?”

 

Nitori sighed again and nodded. Rin sat beside him and wrapped his arms around him. After a few minutes sitting like that, just holding each other, the redhead asked, “Are you still sure you want to talk to Seijuro and Sousuke today? It can wait until you’re feeling better and can think more clearly.”

 

“I’m certain.”

 

There were a couple extra rooms in every dorm building to house guests if they needed to be close to campus, or had nowhere else to stay. Sousuke and Seijuro were currently staying in one of these rooms so that they could help until Nitori was better. Rin technically was supposed to be staying there as well. Nitori limped there on his crutches while his boyfriend hovered behind him, overprotective and ready to catch him if he fell.

 

Unknown to them, Momo had listened into their conversations and wanted to know what was happening as well. He crept along the hall behind Rin and Nitori, hoping to find a chance to listen in on their discussion with his older brother and Sousuke.

 

Rin rapped on the door and then opened it without waiting for a response. Sousuke was doing stretches to help  improve his shoulder while Seijuro was reading a magazine full of women in swimsuits. Both looked up in surprise as Nitori limped in and Rin loomed behind him.

 

Seijuro quickly stood up and gave his chair to Nitori. Nitori took a deep breath. “The doctors are keeping some sort of secret from me. And I think you know what that secret iss. I need you to tell me it is.” His blue eyes were demanding.

 

Sousuke glared at Rin. “Did you tell him? He doesn’t need this stress while he’s healing!”

 

The red head opened his mouth to respond, but Nitori beat him to it. “What I _need_ is to know the truth about what’s happening. Do you think I’m weak? All three of you helped me learn that I’m not helpless. Maybe the secret you’re keeping will hurt me, or stress me out, but I can handle it. TELL ME.”

 

Rin closed his mouth and placed his hand on his small boyfriend’s shoulder. “Exactly. Trust him on this.”

 

Sousuke and Seijuro exchanged a worried look. Seijuro sighed and tapped his foot anxiously. “It’s his leg. It probably won’t be the way it was be before he was attacked. It won’t be able to heal completely. He might not be able to-”

 

“AI WON’T BE ABLE TO WALK!” Rin screeched, in absolute alarm. His hand squeezed Nitori’s shoulder almost painfully tight. The small teen’s face went white, partially from the strong grip on his shoulder, but mainly from fear at the idea of being unable to use his leg permanently.

 

Momo was listening outside the door, and gasped when he heard those words.

 

Sousuke held up his hands, trying to calm the situation. “No no, nothing that extreme. He should be able to walk just fine-“

 

“Should!?” Rin interrupted again.

 

Nitori reached and gently squeezed his boyfriend’s hand. “They can’t tell us if you keep interrupting them, love. Let them talk please.” The small hands were shaking, despite his brave behavior.

 

“He’ll be able to do the things he’s able to do now. He just might not be as good at it. For instance he will probably jog slower and-” Sousuke cut himself off, looking worriedly between Nitori and Rin. Clearly this was the part he was afraid of saying. He stood their silently, struggling to find the words, the will, to say it.

 

Seijuro looked just as upset. He, too, stayed silent.  Rin and Nitori remained still, waiting to hear the rest. They all stayed that was for several minutes. Momo leaned closer to the door, wondering if the conversation was now being whispered. Why couldn’t he hear anything?

 

“He won’t be able to swim anymore. At least not competitively.” Sousuke finally finished.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for leaving you once again with a cliffhanger. I'll try to get the next one done faster this time. The next chapter will probably end up being fairly long, or fairly short, depending on where I choose to split it.

**Author's Note:**

> I needed to create the characters Fujimoto and Matsuyama for the plot to work, but I do worry they took on too big a role. Hopefully it is still ok. 
> 
> I also worry that Ai seems too weak in this. He is a very tough and resilient character, and certainly a good captain. I don't want to make him seem any less than he is. 
> 
> If you notice any mistakes please let me know. I know anyone who can beta these and i kinda suck at editing.
> 
> In any case, I hope you enjoy this!


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